WorldCrafts, a program sponsored by national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), is celebrating its 10th anniversary this spring.
WorldCrafts provides missions-minded Baptists with a unique way to support struggling families and individuals around the world.
This nonprofit ministry imports more than 300 different items from 31 countries around the world and makes them available for purchase. As part of the anniversary celebration, a special product is being promoted.
“We have a special, exclusive pearl necklace, earring and bracelet set from Haiti to commemorate the 10-year anniversary,” said Kristi Griem, WorldCrafts production coordinator.
The anniversary spotlight comes on the heels of a successful venture during the International Mission Study in December 2005. Griem said WorldCrafts products were spotlighted in the study on India, allowing people to learn more about the products and their impact on the people who create them.
Twenty-four items from India were offered through WorldCrafts and many are still available. “We feature many Indian items, made by four different artisan groups,” Griem said. “And we feature an India Sample Set, which includes five items.”
The craftspeople from Haiti and India who create such products are illustrative of the types of people whose lives are being impacted by the sale of their handcrafts.
Artisan groups are made up of men and women who otherwise might have no income.
As an example, India’s Freeset group is made up of women who live in Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, one of India’s red-light districts where thousands of women and girls work as prostitutes.
According to Griem, the women who choose to work at Freeset receive training to sew jute bags for export; they work an eight-hour day and receive on-the-job literacy lessons.
The jute bags tell the story of each woman’s journey to freedom. “She still lives and works in the same area, but instead of selling her body, she now makes and sells Freeset bags,” Griem said. “By purchasing one of these jute tote bags, you become part of the story of freedom.”
In addition to jute bags, other products such as rice straw card sets, embroidered pillowcases, beeswax candle sets, batik stationery sets and inlaid silver jewelry are available from the artisans.
Such products are wonderful alternatives to traditional gifts and home décor items — not just because of their uniqueness but also because of the meaning behind them.
“WorldCrafts products make great presents because they fulfill a gift-giving need and make a difference eternally and economically for more than 2,000 people around the world,” Griem said.
At First Baptist Church, Alabaster, in Shelby Baptist Association, Acteens leader Jean McLean said she encourages missions groups to use WorldCrafts products in their service projects throughout the year.
She said buying items from WorldCrafts truly does make a difference in people’s lives. “I think that this is one of the best things WMU does,” McLean said. “Its effects really do go all around the world.”
And the products make their way back to Alabama for distribution.
“WorldCrafts works with each artisan group in product development, shipping and, finally, marketing,” Griem said. “The group ships their items to our warehouse in Birmingham, and we pay the artisan group upon receipt of that shipment. WorldCrafts pays for the shipping and customs cost so that the artisan group does not have to factor in that cost as part of their expense.”
The money each artisan group makes from their products varies according to their home country and the product. WorldCrafts pays whatever wholesale price their contact in that country says covers all of the material costs and provides a fair wage to the workers.
“We pay this amount up front when we receive the order, and if the items sell well, we are able to reorder and provide the people with more income,” Griem said.
WorldCrafts was established in 1996 in Thailand with just one vendor — a cottage industry called Thai Country Trim that had been started with the help of Southern Baptist missionaries.
In fact, current national WMU President Kaye Miller lived in Thailand as the daughter of missionaries and saw the roots of WorldCrafts firsthand. “Growing up in Thailand, all the missionary houses were built on stilts, and as a teenager, I can remember that Aunt Betty Butcher — the missionary wife of Dr. Orby Butcher — would work with a few Thai ladies under our houses,” she said. “It developed into the Thai Country Trim in the early ‘80s and later joined up with WorldCrafts.”
Miller said it’s exciting to see something she saw in its inception become such a meaningful organization. “It affected me in that it was something I saw as a youth and took part in. It was just a seed of an idea, but it took off in the following years to be such a good way to reach people for Jesus.
“WorldCrafts has literally changed the lives of those involved and those of the extended family,” she said.
“Many women crafters who have come to Bible study and have made professions of faith are still praying for their husbands to come to know Jesus,” Miller said. “And I have seen WorldCrafts keep a family alive by providing food and clothing. It has saved so many from utter poverty.”
As WorldCrafts celebrates its anniversary, Griem said it’s interesting and inspiring to look at how far the ministry has come over the years. “The Lord has blessed the artisans we work with above and beyond our imagination,” she said. “The growth over the years has been God-sized, and each day, I think we all stand amazed at who He connects us with — new countries, new artisan groups and new opportunities.”
The future should be just as exciting as WorldCrafts continues plans to grow and find new opportunities for ministry. “We plan to reach as many people as possible by lifting more out of poverty, prostitution and hopelessness,” Griem said.
Missions groups and individuals can get more information and order products for such celebrations from the WorldCrafts Web site at www.worldcraftsvillage.com or call 1-800-968-7301.
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